Duke Energy Corporation

“Duke Energy is a structurally excellent regulated monopoly anchored by a state-granted territorial franchise, ~$83B capital deployment program, and the strongest utility load growth tailwinds in decades from Sun Belt data centers and industrial reshoring — but at 17x forward earnings, the stock prices in the entire EPS CAGR with no buffer for its $10-12B coal ash contingent liability or its $90B debt load. Expected total returns of 8-9% annually and a 2-2.5x 10-year outcome are decent but not exceptional, warranting patience for a ~$105-110 entry that would provide both better returns and a meaningful margin of safety against the North Carolina regulatory overhang.”